The New Leader
by khoshekh the cat
Summary: (This borderline disregards the Rise of Scourge) After the battle with the four Clans, BloodClan has lost Scourge, but not all is lost. The Old Ones have spoke of how the leaders come back, and now it's their only hope. Will the new leader destroy them like Scourge, or does he even exist at all?
1. Prologue

"The battle was bloody, and it was a devastating blow. The corpses of BloodClan lined the forest, but we had no way to take them with us.

Our biggest loss was our current leader. He guided us, even if his ways hurt us sometimes. Without him we were nothing. The ache of not having him lead us would be awful for many moons, and we knew it wouldn't be better for many moons until he had returned in a new form.

It was strange, the way our leader came to us. The Old Ones by the Rat Place, that had been exiled for their weakness, had knowledge that shouldn't be lost, so some of the executors came and asked their advice. They told us where good places for food were and what to do with some of the trespassers.

Some of their most notable knowledge was that of the Leader's Ways.

The story went something like this.

Many moons before the idea of grouping together even existed, there was a cat that wasn't really a cat. He walked on all fours, and he had black fur and blue eyes and a pink nose like a cat, but he was not a cat. He was a being in the shape of a cat. What sort of being? The Old Ones don't know; it has been too long. However, one day the cat got ill and he died. After a long time, there was another cat that looked the same, and he too died and was replaced by the same cat. These cats often don't remember who they're supposed to be when first born; but as soon as they open their eyes they know at least a little what they're meant to do.

The original cat had a plan to rule over the most land alone, but when he died alone he realized that it would be hard. So he began making notes in stone and scratching messages into walls to help spread his message - to join him to enjoy the ultimate reward, the most sought after gift.

The gift of endless food, long lives, and comfort with others.

Of course, whenever he knew he was about to die, he told his followers to stay close to him and wait so he could return, but they never did. They didn't believe that a cat could live again. He would have to start over, however the time in between his deaths and births lessened every time. It got close enough to where he would pass his old followers and they would feel ashamed, but would spread the message until they too died."

Bumble snorted.

"Are you telling me Scourge is gonna come back? That's the dumbest thing ever. Our dad never came back."

"That's because he didn't die; he ran away," Adder said.

Bumble rolled his eyes, but settled down to finish listening.

"Since you all are getting antsy, I'll finish it up now. Just know that even long ago, cats didn't believe him. However, he always returned. That's why we're staying here until the new Scourge arises."

Adder blinked up at his mother.

"What if I don't want him to come back because he makes us separate again?"

Sap sighed, knowing that his question was valid even if it was vile.

"There has always been a good leader and a bad leader. You cannot have one without the other. Our next leader will lead us to victory; Scourge... helped us make our presence known before that."

Bumble scuffed the ground.

"He didn't have to," he muttered. "Life could've been just fine if we just said we existed or something. He treated everyone like a rat tail."

"Well, look at us now. We're strong, healthy, we have almost no fleas or sickness, and BloodClan is going to survive to see our next leader."

Silently, Sap was just as distraught and distrusting as her son was, but voicing her opinions would upset Adder. She was too young to understand sometimes, things just don't work out like you would hope.

"Anyway, it's almost sunset which means..."

"Mouse time!" the two kits howled, and ran past the house. Sap smirked and drew a paw over her ear. She was glad that Scourge wasn't here anymore so she could raise her kits herself, even if it meant doing it without Smokey. Thinking about him made her heart ache in a way that shouldn't be possible, but it happened anyway.

She was glad her kits didn't realize that Smokey had actually died, even if it seemed wrong. She didn't want them to know that despite hiding carefully, Scourge still found out that they were raising two kits. One of them had to pay the penalty, and Smokey wanted her to be there for the kits.

"Oh, Smokey..." she murmured. "It's been so long, and yet it hasn't been long at all. I wonder if you'll come back too?"

Despite the hurt, she got up and followed the smell of mice. Ever since Scourge had died (which had been many moons ago now), the whole of BloodClan had gotten together and rekindled past friendships. It felt whole and solid, and made her glad when she saw Old Ones sitting with an old executor. There wasn't anything better than being able to grab a bird and not fear for your ears or eyes, and it felt amazing sleeping in an old Upright den with the others. It was warm and binding, like those moments mattered more than the other ones.

Sap had felt better than ever now that he was gone, and she could only hope the days lasted longer than she thought they would.


	2. Chapter 1

He blinked, wiping the fog from his eyes as his mother greeted him into the world.

"Look at my little handsome tom! His eyes are all open now!"

Another cat scoffed off in the distance, and he had to twist his ear to hear her.

"Every cat opens their eyes. I don't get what's so special about it!"

"Oh, Twist, you wouldn't get it. I don't know how to describe it," she said. "It's just a nice thing to happen is all. Not everything has to be so extreme, you know."

Twist padded over and sat in front of him. He was surprised; she sounded young and spunky but actually appeared to be the same age as his mother.

"So, you're Surgekit, huh? I helped choose that name." She puffed her chest out.

Surgekit tried to speak, but it mostly sounded like squeaks which caused his mother and Twist to purr in laughter.

"All right, all right, I don't really like kits that much but he's cute, Riversong."

Riversong dipped her head and frowned slightly.

"I still wonder what it'd be like if I had gotten to raise him in my Clan. I couldn't bear leaving, you know, despite everything the leaders told me. The twolegs aren't all that bad anyway."

Twist shrugged.

"You have me at least. Some cats stay alone their whole lives, but I guess because of Surgekit you wouldn't have been alone anyway."

Surgekit cleared his throat, and in his bravest voice said, "I'm never gonna let her be alone ever!" It was still high-pitched but the message was met with warm purrs and his mom rubbing her cheek against his.

Twist flicked his ear with her tail and sat down on the dusty ground. Riversong began to groom Surgekit, which he complained about by trying to growl.

"Oh, hush! Everything is dusty because of those big monsters, but that doesn't mean I'll let you be dusty too."

It was a long moment of silence, but Surgekit was more happy with the silence than the conversations. He stared at Twist while he was getting groomed, and saw her deep muddy brown pelt and amber eyes in the sunlight. It was very pretty, and he liked it over his own black pelt and white tail. His mother was a sleek dark gray cat with stripes down her back and legs, but her eyes were bright green. He had no idea what his own eyes were, but he hoped they were amber or green. The way they bounced in the light and refracted into many colors was breath-taking and he suddenly felt awkward when Twist met his eyes.

"What are you looking at, huh?"

He turned away and felt his face get warm.

His mother finished and proudly stated, "That's a pretty coat!"

Twist then blankly replied, "He looks like that other cat."

"Yes, I know," Riversong sighed. "I think it's good though, that he looks like his father a little. I think Vineclaw would've been happy."

Twist still looked deep in thought, but then answered,"Yeah, Vineclaw. That's who I'm thinking of. Did he leave too?"

"Yes. Some elders and I were the only ones who stayed. Firestar told me it was very unwise..." she trailed off as she stared at Surgekit.

"If it was unwise, why'd you stay?" he said.

Riversong blinked, but didn't respond. Twist spoke up to help her out.

"Sometimes, you just have a feeling, and you have to go with it no matter what. Even if you don't know why you're doing it, you just have to."

"That sounds vague."

"Feelings are vague. They're feelings. They aren't really supposed to make a bunch of sense, they're just there to help you out when you need it."

Riversong murmured something, but Surgekit and Twist couldn't hear her. "Huh?" Twist meowed.

"I said, I don't know why I stayed, but Twist is right. I knew I couldn't go, even if it meant leaving your father. I don't know why, but even if I changed my mind now I would never find them again. It's rained since then; their scent is probably long gone."

Surgekit frowned and scuffed his feet.

"If I ever know I have to leave, but I don't want to leave, what do I do?"

"You do what you think is right," Twist replied. "No matter the cost."

Riversong glanced at Twist with silent fury in her eyes, so Twist reworded her sentence.

"Okay, okay. There's definitely exceptions, but if you have to go hungry a couple nights to make your dreams happen then you should still try to reach them," she mewed.

Blinking, Riversong padded forward a little ways and licked Surgekit's ear. "You won't need to leave for a very long time, I hope," she sighed.

Surgekit wasn't sure why the cats were so focused on destiny, whether it be his or some other cat's. While he had just opened his eyes, he had heard plenty beforehand and was pretty sure most things happened because they happened; not necessarily because they needed to or not. It was strange thinking that somewhere, cats were pulling strings or seeing the future. He then silently snorted to himself - that was as ridiculous as cats in the stars! Regardless, it made him uneasy thinking he was playing some distant game or that he was a pawn of some sort. Surge's paws itched to get away from his mother and Twist; he wanted his own identity and life. Even though Riversong meant well, she was kind of weird and talked about the past an awful lot for a cat that claimed to have known leaving everything behind was the right thing to do.

Knowing he wasn't being fair towards his mom, he thought about how, despite the food shortage, she had ventured out and found loner and housecat friends even though she was introverted. Riversong also tried to be fair and hear everyone out, which sometimes ended in arguments but most of the time was a very diplomatic way of dealing with all the cats that wandered the streets.

Surgekit realized he had zoned out and listened to the conversation Twist and Riversong were having.

"... they're fighting over every scrap I find, even though there's not much to go around in the first place," Twist said.

"At least they aren't killing. When BloodClan fought the four Clans, there was so much death. I still have nightmares about that battle."

Twist looked at Riversong affectionately. "That's one thing about you forest cats - you're all brave, no matter what."

Riversong, however, didn't seem affected by the compliment. If anything, she seemed more distraught.

"They killed an apprentice, he was so young! All just to prove a point," she whispered. Her frame crumpled and her fur dulled, and she suddenly seemed much too old to have a young kit. Riversong then began to cry weakly, and Twist whisked Surgekit away with her tail.

"I wanna comfort her," he mewed.

"I know, but right now I think she needs to be alone. Why don't we go look for some food, huh?"

Surgekit sighed. Despite everything, he hated it when Riversong felt bad. While she could be strict at times, her softer side always got to Surgekit and made him feel guilty whenever he didn't want to be groomed or coddled. She was just trying to be a good queen, and who was he to be upset at that? He wanted to right whatever wrong had happened, but he knew that it wasn't possible to bring a cat from the dead. As he and Twist wandered away through the streets, he kept muttering to himself a promise he was sure to never break.

"I'm gonna get whoever made her sad. That's my purpose - and no one is going to stop me."


End file.
